Russian Mission Control Center had to pull the satellite to the
designated orbit using Yamal's own engine after the Briz-M booster
rocket that was carrying it failed during the final acceleration.

"At about 2:00 Moscow time (2200 GMT Sunday), the first
switch-on of the Yamal-402 engines was made. According to the
ballistics experts, the satellite has received a necessary
impulse," Interfax news agency quoted Roscosmos spokesman Alexei
Kuznetsov as saying.

The satellite, belonging to the Russian Gazprom Space Systems
company, failed to reach the designated orbit on Dec. 9 due to the
Briz-M booster stopping early. The booster later exploded due to
overheating of its fuel tank.

Roscosmos said the need to expend the Yamal-402'a fuel to
correct its orbit will shorten its service life.

Yamal-402, produced by French company Thales Alenia Space,
would become operational on Jan. 8, and all its systems were
working properly, Roscosmos said.

Yamal is equipped with 46 Ku-band transponders providing
coverage over most of Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent
States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

In August, a Briz-M booster failed to put two satellites in
orbit. Investigations found the failure was caused by a clogging
of the booster's fuel pipes.

It led to the resignation of top managers at the Khrunichev
State Research and Production Space Center, which designs and
builds the booster.

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